Author Archives: Sensei Keeling

We are now studying Empi for the advanced kata in our Saturday classes. (Heian Godan for the basic kata) Empi means “flight of the swallow” and contains movements that resemble a small bird darting in & out, up & down. This kata is derived from a very old kata, Wanshu, which may have been brought […]

This Saturday we are doing Heian Godan (平安五段), the fifth kata in our regular syllabus. The Heian kata came to Japan from Okinawa, where Funakoshi Sensei gave them their Japanese name. Heian means “peace and safety.” These kata were developed from the advanced kata to play the same role we use them for today: as a gateway […]

Sensei Elmar Schmeisser will be teaching a seminar at Silicon Valley Karate’s headquarters location on October 20, 2018, 1:00-3:00pm. This seminar will be open to anyone 15 years or older and minimum green belt and is geared toward more advanced adults. Sensei Schmeisser has been doing Shotokan and other martial arts for over 45 years […]

Calling all female Shotokan Karate people 15 years old and older, minimum purple belt level… This will be the region’s first women-focused training session. It is open to any female Shotokan practitioner minimum 15 years of age and minimum purple belt level. Any affiliation is welcome. Training will be led this time by Sensei Rachel […]

We are now studying Kanku-sho in our Saturday classes. The predecessor kata on which Kanku-sho was derived, Kanku-dai, is very old and versions of it are practiced by people in various styles of Karate. Older versions may go by the name ‘Kushanko” and the -dai suffix was added when a secondary version (-sho) was created […]

The Gorokhovsky family moved to Maui this summer (we all feel so sorry for them… 😉 ), where they joined a new dojo. They recently participated in a fairly large tournament there and did well. Jacob got 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (kumite, individual kata, team kata), Emily three 2nd places, Jane and Vadim both got […]

We are now studying Kanku-dai in our Saturday classes. This kata is very old and versions of it are practiced by people in various styles of Karate. Older versions may go by the name “Kushanku” and the -dai suffix was added when a secondary version (-sho) was created over 100 years ago. Legend has it […]

As some of our older members know, our dojo was affiliated with Shotokan Karate-Do International for many years. Our dojo’s Chief Instructor, Sensei Jon Keeling, started his Karate training in this organization in 1982 and spent several years training with the organization’s Chief Instructor, Sensei Masataka Mori in the 1980s. Upon the formation of our […]

We are now studying Bassai-sho in our Saturday classes. Bassai-sho is a derivative of Bassai-dai, which is very old. Versions of Bassai-dai are practiced by people in various styles of Karate. Bassai-sho was created in the late 19th century and shares many techniques and strategies with its predecessor kata. Bassai-sho is generally introduced at black […]

Special Self-Defense Workshops taking place this week: Monday (8/13): 1-3pm (7-10 year olds) Tuesday (8/14): 1-3pm (11-14 year olds) Friday (8/17): 7-8:15pm (regular monthly class for adults and teens 15+) Saturday (8/18): 11am-1pm (15 years old+, including college students) Cost is just $25 for each 2-hour workshop. schedule can be seen here: http://www.svkarate.com/class-schedule/ more info […]